Reflecting on a Race Well-Run

I tried to stay up to watch Obama’s victory speech last night. At 1:00 I called it a night. I’ll have to go and try to find the transcript.

I watched McCain’s concession speech. I have to say, I think he would have made a decent president.

Last night, as I watched the election coverage I was thinking about the ‘what if.’ And yes, I think no matter which candidate had been elected, we would be better off in four years than we are now after eight years of the debacle that was/is Bush.

Both candidates are well-spoken. They can put words together to form a coherent sentence without the help of a speech writer (Letterman will now have to find something besides ‘Great Moments in Presidential Speeches‘, I’m sure he won’t disappoint). They can both pronounce the word ‘nuclear.’ Our current president lacks these abilities.

Both candidates are gentlemen. While McCain proclaimed he’s a maverick, he’s does not give me the impression that he is his family’s ‘black sheep.’

I remember the feeling that accompanied the last four elections that I was choosing the lesser of two evils. This time around I truly felt we had two strong candidates that would both be good for our country and so, I was able to focus on the issues.

For me, one of the deciding factors came down to running-mates (especially in McCain’s case where his health could very well be an issue in the next four to eight years). One of the vice-presidential candidates, I felt, was not only not strong, but actually weak (and couldn’t pronounce the word ‘nuclear’, pffft.).

I am very happy that America has spoken (with a record turn-out) and that, as a country, we believe the time has come for a president who is not Caucasian (not that race was part of my decision). It feels like a new chapter in our country’s history is about to begin. I kept thinking last night that we, as a country, were going to make history one way or another whether it be with a black president or a female vice-president. That was exciting.

I’m also excited for Scout. He seems to understand what this means, although at a superficial level befitting a 10-yo. He still doesn’t understand a lot of the issues that have faced African-Americans. Yes, he knows that black people were brought here as slaves from Africa and forced to work without pay as property of white farmers in the south. He did a book report on a Jackie Robinson biography which gave us the opportunity to talk about ‘breaking the color barrier’ and what was and was not permitted at that time. They’ve touched on black history in January and February in the context of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday and black history month, but I don’t think he really understands. I’m not sure he really, really ‘gets’ it. I’m looking forward to the dialog that this opens with him.

I’m also excited for Lil’bug. Last night, on CBS, they made a point of showing all of the women that had been elected to the House and the Senate. 16 or 17 of them! Progress! Maybe by the time she’s Scout’s age we’ll be excited because there will be a woman poised to step into the Oval Office.

So now it’s time to put our differences aside and embrace what is common. We are Americans who love our country and want it to be strong for our children and grandchildren, in perpetuity.

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I was talking about this with Sweets last night. The McCain of 2000? I could have voted for him. Despite the fact I’m usually very liberal in my political leanings. McCain was a tolerable and admirable moderate Republican. He has the best interests of his country in mind. And I respect that. What I don’t respect? The Repbulican Party took over his campaign. Made him the talking head that represents a party whose beliefs do not represent the popular vote. Made him choose a running mate who offended potential voters. Made many of us question his ability to make good decisions as a leader of our country. And it’s unfortunate that it took until his concession speech to hear the real McCain shine through.